Treadmill - Treadmills For Punishment

Treadmills For Punishment

Treadmills for punishment usually rotate around a horizontal axis, requiring the user to step upwards, like walking up a never-ending staircase. Those punished are outside the wheel. Small similar horizontal-axis treadmills but with a single occupant inside are familiar toys for small pet animals such as hamsters. This type of treadmill is often called a treadwheel.

Treadmills were used in prisons in Britain from 1818 and until the second half of the 19th century; they were like twenty-foot long paddle wheels with twenty-four steps around a six-foot cylinder. Several prisoners stood side-by-side on a wheel, and had to work six or more hours a day, effectively climbing 5,000 to 14,000 vertical feet. While the purpose was mainly punitive, the mill could grind grain, pump water, or ventilate.